


A quick brain-game

by crimsoxcore



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Character Study, Experimental work, F/F, Female Friendship, Femslash, Friendship, Light Angst, No Dialogue, Philosophy, Trans Female Character, devolping friendship, inner monologue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-18 13:51:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15487245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsoxcore/pseuds/crimsoxcore
Summary: Yuri hands Natsuki a slip of paper after school one day - and Natsuki finds an interesting set of questions inside. Just what does Yuri want from her?





	A quick brain-game

**Author's Note:**

> Before you read:  
> Please note that this work contains headcanons. I’ll list them here below, in case it concerns anyone;  
> * Natsuki is a trans girl (she was born a boy, and now goes by she/her pronouns  
> * Natsuki’s father considers her disgusting for ‘pretending to be a girl’ (in other words, he is transphobic, and doesn’t support Natsuki in her gender switch)  
> This is also set in an non-game AU where everyone is alive, and they live in the real world. (M/C has joined the anime club because I don’t like him and I control this au so fight me). 
> 
> Also, if you enjoyed this fic, let me know! I tried something a little different, and feedback + critisim is always welcome!

Natsuki was sitting at her desk, staring at the piece of paper in confusion. She had no idea why Yuri has given her such... odd questions, but she figured it’d be worth a shot.

  
‘It’s not like I have anything better to do, anyway,’ she mused with a frown. She had finished her homework early, and her father was at a business meeting, so Natsuki had her house all to herself.

  
She sat down at her little writing desk, and switched on her desk-lamp, which was emitted a soft white glow.  
She reached into her pencil cup, and pulled out her lucky pencil - the one with the cute panda eraser.

She smoothed out the paper on her desk and read over the first question, written in Yuri’s cursive handwriting.

  
_“I want you to imagine a desert, stretching out as far as your eyes can see. In this desert is a cube._  
_Your first task is to describe the cube. What does it look like? How large is it? What is it made of? Where exactly is it?_  
_There are no right answers here, only your answers.  Take a moment before you continue – the detail is important.”_

  
Natsuki stared at the question, not confused, but curious. What did this mean? What would her answer mean? However, Yuri had already told her not to flip the page, as it would ruin the game. So, Natsuki pushed the thought aside, and though about her answer. Finally, she wrote;

_“The cube is very small, about the size of a cat. However, it glows brightly, making it seem much larger from a distance. It is made out of clay, which was very soft and squishy at a time, but now is hard, and brittle.”_

  
She frowned, looking over her answer. Yuri had reminded her to take her time when answering, and not to rush through the questions. Would this be enough? She paused, then added, _“it sits on top the sand, not buried but not above it, either.”_  
That would be enough, she figured. Enough to sastify Yuri, hopefully. She read over her answer one last time before moving onto her next question.

  
_“As you look at the desert and your cube, you notice there is also a ladder. Your second task (there are just five) is to describe the ladder. What is it made of? How big is it? Where is it, in relation to the cube?”_

  
‘A ladder, huh?’ Natsuki wonders. She began to wonder what Yuri was trying to do here. This was so silly, and she could be doing anything else at the moment. It must have some meaning.

  
“But,” she mumbled, “if I ever want to get closer to Yuri, I have to try out some stuff she likes.”

  
She studied the question again before answering;

  
_“The ladder was made out of wood, not the strongest material, but it seemed to be much stronger in comparison to the cube. It was a longer ladder, and it stood up tall against the cube, stretching for something much higher._ ”

  
This answer seemed to be enough, so she moved onto the third question Yuri had written down for her.

  
_“Now imagine that in the scene there is a horse. (Yes, horse. I didn’t say this desert made sense). Your third task: describe the horse. Most importantly: where is the horse, and what is it doing? Where, if anywhere, is it going?”_

  
“A horse, huh?” Natsuki didn’t know too much about horses, but she always thought they were interesting creatures. She thought it over, then wrote; _“the horse is taller, and stronger than the cube. It usually hangs out around the ladder, yet it isn’t interested in what’s on the top.”_

  
She wasn’t sure why she added that last part, but it just came to her, and she decided to go with it.

  
This answer was shorter than her other answers, but Natsuki wasn’t sure what else to write. Brushing that off, she moved onto the next question.

  
_“We’re nearly there now. In the scene before you are flowers. Your penultimate task: describe the flowers. How many are there? What do they look like? Where are they, in relation to the horse, cube, ladder and sand?”_

  
Natsuki immediately grew confused. How were flowers growing in the desert? She scratched her head. She really though this answer over before writing; _“there is a little garden sprouting out of the cube, that began growing when the clay was soft. However, now that the clay has hardened, they are beginning to wilt, leaving the horse with nothing to eat.”_  
She decided to move onto the next question, as she was almost done and this should be explained soon.

  
_“Final question. In the desert there is a storm. Describe the storm. What type of storm is it? Is it near, or far? What direction i_ s it headed? Does it affect the horse, flowers, cube or ladder?”

  
‘A storm?’ She thought to herself. ‘That’s edgy.’ She chuckles a little before answering, _“the storm is pouring right over the cube and the horse. It is softening the clay, helping the flowers to grow. The horse both likes and dislikes the storm, and it’s feeling a little conflicted.”_

  
She paused. How could a horse feel conflicted? Her answer seemed a little dumb... did she really have to give this to Yuri? She sighed. If it turned out to be that bad, she’d just change her answer later. She wanted to know what all of this even meant, first.

  
She was about to flip the page over, when she saw a final note, probably left by Yuri out of worry that she wouldn’t take the game seriously.

  
_“If you’ve been playing along, this is going to be fun. If you didn’t, I must warn you: the next part ruins your ability to play this game ever again. If you won’t want to ruin it forever, go back now. Trust me._  
_Ready? There’s no going back”_

  
She sighed. Yuri’s going to be happy that she actually took this seriously. Natsuki smiled, out of satisfaction.

  
“She probably thought I wouldn’t,” she remarked.

  
She turned the page, and began to read it over.

  
_“The cube is yourself.”_

  
“Dang,” she mumbled. “I should’ve known.”

  
_“The size is ostensibly your ego: a large cube means you’re pretty sure of yourself, a small cube less so.”_

  
She read over her description of her cube again. It was something she would’ve never admitted in context... that must’ve been the trick! Yuri was trying to get to know her better?

  
‘Sneaky,’ Natsuki thought. ‘Yuri sure is clever...”

  
She continued to read Yuri’s description.

  
_“The vertical placement of the cube is how grounded you are. Resting on the sand? You’re probably pretty down to earth. Floating in the sky? Your head is in the clouds.”_

  
Natsuki stared at it. Yuri really did get her to admit things... did she HAVE to give this to Yuri?

  
_“The cube’s material conveys how open you are: transparent cubes belong to transparent people, opaque cubes are more protective of their minds. Glowing? You’re likely a positive person, who aims to raise the spirits of others. Made of granite? You’re likely protective and resilient._  
_The trick here is that when asked to describe a blank, abstract entity – a cube – your imagination will tend to project its own identity onto it. This trick is as old as time, but it’s about to get more interesting.”_

  
Natsuki raised an eyebrow. “It is, now?” She set down her pencil. It would be dishonest to try and erase anything now, she decided.  
“Well, lets see what the other things represent too..”

  
_“The ladder represents your friends._  
_Are your friends leaning on the cube? Your friends depend on you, and are close. Is the ladder frail, or robust? Tall or short? Does it lead inside the cube? Or is it cast to one side, lying unloved on the sand? By now you should be able to draw your own conclusions.”_

  
Natsuki immediately thought of the club, the closest friends she had. Sure, she hung around with other people from her classes, but the literature club was different. She just felt safer there, like she could be herself around them. She thought about this a little, then read on.

  
_“The horse represents your dream partner._

  
_The type of horse reveals a lot about what you yearn for in a partner. Some people see a steady brown workhorse, others a shining pegasus or unicorn. Make of these people what you will._  
_Is your horse nuzzling your cube affectionately, or taking a bite out of it? Is it far from your cube, or walking away? This can represent a current partner, or an aspirational one, but the results are often a mix of touching and hilarious”_

  
“My dream partner, huh?” Natsuki stared at it, reading it over again.

  
“Why does Yuri want to know all of this?” She pondered, before moving on.

  
_“The flowers represent children._  
_The number of flowers relates to how many you imagine having. Some people see just a single, withered daisy; others a resplendent garden covering the cube and desert beneath. (Guys: watch out for those)._  
_The colour and vitality of the flowers can speak to their health and presumed prosperity. The placement – particularly in relation to the cube – can reveal interesting relations; I met one woman whose horse was eating their flowers.”_

  
She nodded. “Fair enough,” she noted.

  
_“Finally, the storm represents threat._  
_This speaks to the current state of the person, and how they perceive risk in their life. Some may see a distant storm, on the lip of the horizon, fading from sight. Others may view themselves in the midst of a thunderous apocalypse, hailstones the size of tennis balls pelting their fragile cube and horse. Chances are those people have some immediate trauma in their life.”_

  
She read over her results over and over again, staring at them completely dumbfounded. She knew it was silly to believe in something like this, but she really felt it described her to a point. Things that were true, but she'd never admit to herself; let alone Yuri. 

**Author's Note:**

> Credit for questions and game go to: https://oliveremberton.com/2014/how-to-connect-deeply-with-anyone-in-5-minutes/


End file.
